Chapter 482
Accidental Surrogate for Alpha
Chapter 482 â New Baby Cousin
Ella
I see a yawn stretch over Coraâs face and immediately start to get to my feet. âYouâre exhausted,â I say,
âweâll let you get some rest â â
âNo,â Roger says, suddenly a little frantic again. âYou guy canât leave what if â what if the baby cries
and Cora sleeps through it â I have no idea what to do â
I laugh at my brother-in-law and shake my head at him. âWeâre not going far, Roger,â I say, pressing
myself to Sinclairâs side as he, too, stands up. âWeâre going to sleep across the hall after we make sure
Henry gets home safe. Youâll be able to shout if you need anything.â
âOh, thank god,â Roger murmurs, slumping back against the pillows and putting a weary hand over his
face.
âSo dramatic,â Cora says, rolling her eyes but laughing anyway. I grin at my sister and then move to her
side, pressing a kiss to her cheek and blowing one to the sleeping Jesse, my new perfect nephew.
âYou guys sleep tight, all right?â I say. âAnd really â weâre here if you need us. Or even if you want us to
take the baby in the rolling bassinet â he can sleep in our room â â
âWeâll be fine, Ella,â Cora says, rolling her eyes at me now.
âThey do this all the time in hospitals, take the baby to the nursery so the mom can get some sleep! I
could
âStop trying to steal my baby,â she laughs, flapping a hand at me, âjust because you miss having a
newborn.â
âI do,â I sigh, again clutching my hands beneath my chin. âTheyâre so cute and tiny thenâ¦â
âCome and take your meatball, Ella,â Sinclair says on a laugh, holding out my perfect little Rafe to me.
And I laugh too, taking Rafe in my arms and holding him tight against my chest.
âYouâre perfect too, Rafe,â I say, kissing his head, âno matter how big you get.â
And then Sinclair and I call our soft goodnights over our shoulder and close the door behind us as we
pass out of the room, letting my sister and her mate have a peaceful night alone with their new baby.
As soon as weâre alone in the hall, I fall back against the wall with an excited little sigh.
âWhat is it this time,â Sinclair says, stopping and grinning at me as I hold Rafe close to my chest.
âIâm just so excited,â I say, smiling up at him. âI get to do that again in what, six months!? I love the
newborn stage! I love the first night, when you canât sleep because you canât bear to close your eyes
and stop looking at them! Iâm so excited. Iâm not going to be able to sleep.â
âYou really were born to be a mom, trouble,â my sweetheart mate says, stepping forward and running
his hand over my hair. I grin up at him, nodding fervently. âLuckily,â he says, raising an eyebrow at me.
âI do not at all mind the process of knocking you up. Not one bit.â
âDominic!â I gasp, swatting at him a little and covering one of Rafeâs ear with my spare hand. âNot in
front of the baby!â
âElla,â Sinclair says, laughing at me as I start down the hall. âWe have sex in front of the baby all the
time â â
âYes, but thatâs natural,â I say, laughing and throwing a haughty look at my mate over my shoulder,
pretending to be more bothered than I am as I open the door to the guest room. âBaby Rafe doesnât
need to hear all of your lewd innuendos about what it is you enjoy.â
âIt wasnât even an inuendo,â Sinclair murmurs, stepping close to me in the dark of the room and pulling
me to him, a little more roughly than he needs to, just the way I like it.
âWell, mind your manners,â I murmur, my voice low and throaty. â Because we have competition now
for best Sinclair parents. And I am not losing to those two idiots in there.â
âNot a chance,â my mate says, laughing his dark little laugh. âWeâve got them beat hands down.â
âI know, right?â I say, wrinkling my nose at him. And my mate kisses me swiftly before giving me a swat
on the rump.
âYou get the baby ready for bed, Iâll make sure dad gets home?â He asks, heading for the door.
âYou got it,â I say, giving him a quick thumbs up and a wink. Sinclair nods to me, smiling, and heads out
the door, leaving me in the dark with the baby.
âWell, Rafey,â I say, laughing as I swing the baby up over my head, making him give a a new cousin
today, and a new bond! What do you think?â
Rafe burbles happily as if in reply and I smile at him as I carry him over to the little changing table I set
up a few hours ago, starting to get him ready for bed.
âIâm very happy for you, Rafe,â I say sternly as I change his diaper and start to put his pajamas on. âBut
if you like your new cousin more than your new little sister, just because you have some weird kind of
bond?â I look at him for a long moment, shaking my head. âIf that happens, weâre going to have big
problems. Okay?â
Rafe just grins at me, babbling as I pull up his tiny zipper.
âIâll take that as a yes,â I say, smiling as I pull him up into my arms. âAnd Iâm holding you to it, even
though you donât even really speak English yet.â
When Sinclair comes back into the room about half an hour later, Rafe and I are cozily settled on the
bed, each of us warmly wrapped up as he plays with some of his soft blocks and I lay quietly by his
side, talking to him and giving him a cuddle whenever he looks for it. But I grin when my mate shuts the
door behind him, smiling at us.
âDonât let me interrupt,â he says, starting to pull off his blazer as he comes to the bed.
âPlease do,â I say, sitting up a little. â We missed you.â
My mate comes immediately to bed, pulling off his shoes and slipping into the bed fully dressed so he
can be with his little family sooner. I smile when I see his eagerness, knowing he feels precisely the
way that I feel: that this is our happy place, when weâre all cozy together with no great pressures or
problems weighing on us.
âAre you sleepy?â he asks. âHungry?â
âBoth,â I say, giving a little shrug. â But, we should wait until Rafe falls asleep to attend to either.â
Sinclair nods, glancing at his son before opening his arm to me, inviting me in. I accept immediately,
scooting over so that Iâm curled up by my mateâs side, a thrill running through me at the warmth and
closeness of him.
âIâd love you anyway,â I say quietly, â but I have to say, I really love that youâre basically a furnace of
body heat that always keeps me warm.â
Sinclair laughs with both pleasure and surprise when I say this. âGlad I can be of service,â he murmurs,
dropping a kiss to my cheek and pressing closer. â What made you think of that?â
âDonât you feel it?â I ask, turning to look at him. âIt got so cold suddenly. I donât know what happened.â
âI guess I didnât,â he murmurs, âbut, apparently Iâm a furnace, so maybe it makes sense that I -â
But suddenly he stops, his jaw falling open a bit as his gaze falls on the window.
âWhat?â I ask, but I donât tense because the feeling he passes down the bond is joy and wonder. Eager,
I turn, trying to see what he sees
And suddenly, my eyes light on the window to. âOh my god,â I say, my voice a little breathless. âItâs â itâs
snowing
Huge, gorgeous flakes of pure white snow drift slowly down from the sky, dancing gracefully across the
window pane.
I watch them for a long, fascinated moment before I frown a little. âIsnât it â¦isnât it way too early for
snow?â I ask, confused.
âWell,â Sinclair says, laughing a little. âWhen your mom is a demigoddess who controls the weather,
probably not.â
âOhhh,â I say, finally getting it. âOh, that is so special,â I murmur, pressing a hand to my heart, âwhat a
wonderful way to welcome your baby to the world
âWelcome, baby Jesse,â Sinclair sighs, pulling me close against him and smiling at me as we watch the
snow. Rafe crawls over to us and puts up his arms so that I will pull him into my lap, a request which I
happily oblige.
âAnd welcome Princess Babygirl,â I murmur, smiling and laughing a little at the ridiculous placeholder of
a name. Sinclair laughs along with me. âCora doesnât know it yet, but this is for you too. We love you so
much already.â
I sigh, feeling the warmth of my mate behind me, and my sweet baby in my lap, and the new bond with
my little girl growing within me -And I close my eyes, feeling totally, completely blessed.